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UPDATE: Samantha Werkheiser's conviction was reversed and her indictment dismissed by the N.Y. State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department on February 21, 2019.

The retrial of a former Binghamton dance teacher charged with sexually abusing a child is nearing its end, with final witnesses expected to testify Friday. Once testimony is over, a judge will hear final arguments from attorneys, then begin deciding a verdict.

On Thursday, the prosecution called just one witness, a medical expert, to the stand in the case against Samantha Werkheiser, 37. She is accused of sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl — now 18 — between 2003 and November 2007 in a City of Binghamton residence.

Special prosecutor Tom Jackson's sole witness Thursday was Kevin Antshel, a clinical child psychology expert from Syracuse, who testified about a disorder that Werkheiser's accuser suffers from and how it affects memory. The disorder affects the body's ability to metabolize a certain amino acid, he testified.

One of the major dueling points in the cases presented by Jackson and Werkheiser's lawyers, Chief Assistant Public Defender Mike Baker and Senior Assistant Public Defender Jonathan Rohthermel, is whether the sexual abuse allegations from the defendant's accuser are credible.

On the witness stand, Antshel said the disorder phenylketonuria (PKU) does not affect long-term memory, but it does have other impacts for patients.

"They tend to have more difficulties on tasks with working memory," Antshel testified. To treat it, he said, physicians focus on strategies such as using daily planners and sticking to routines, to ensure working memory stays strong.

Baker, during cross-examination of Antshel, argued that in cases involving a child with PKU, that diagnosis by itself cannot distinguish that person's level of mental function.

Broome County Court Judge Joseph Cawley — not a jury — will decide whether Werkheiser is guilty of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child.

Werkheiser has pleaded not guilty to the charge, which carries a potential maximum state prison term of 25 years if convicted. The retrial comes after her first conviction was overturned on appeal.

The now-18-year-old woman is a close relative of the defendant, and although the accuser's name was disclosed in open court, this news organization does not identify victims of sexual assault.

Jackson could rest his case Friday — the retrial began Monday — and the defense is expected to call additional witnesses before turning the case over to Cawley for a verdict. On Wednesday, the defense called six witnesses in an effort to argue that people who knew the accuser and Werkheiser through dance events never detected any signs of abusive behavior.

Werkheiser previously operated a dance studio in Binghamton.

Much of the defense's case has revolved around arguments that the woman's allegations against Werkheiser might have spiraled out of her being in the middle of a child custody dispute between her parents and that some of the allegations might have been prompted by the Family Court proceedings.

Alleged abuses were recounted in graphic detail when the woman took the stand as the prosecution's first witness. She said Werkheiser abused her in a bathtub, forced her to stand naked on a banister as punishment and performed "inspections" on her body that involved touching in places she did not want to be touched.

Jackson has argued inappropriate actions toward a child might not leave visible evidence but still be forms of abuse. The defense contends there is no physical evidence to support the allegations.

The defendant's wife, Julie Werkheiser, 40, was charged with abusing two children between the ages of 6 and 8, who were also her dance students, between July 2006 and November 2007. Prosecutors have said the crimes took place at Studio J Dance in Waverly, the studio she had owned and at which she also worked as an instructor.

The victims' relationship to Julie Werkheiser has not been disclosed by authorities. Julie Werkheiser is serving a prison term of 11 years to life after jurors in Tioga County Court found her guilty.